by Ian S. Palmer
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Arsenal has a tough task awaiting them when they host German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium in London in a European Champions League Group F match on Tuesday, October 20. Bayern downed Werder Bremen 1-0 away on Saturday in Bundesliga action while Arsenal left newly-promoted Watford with a decisive 3-0 victory. Arsenal sits in second place in the Premier League, but have lost both of their Champions League outings. Bayern Munich made history on the weekend by becoming the first Bundesliga club to start a season at 9-0. They’re also 2-0 in the champions League.
Arsenal vs Bayern Munich – Pinnacle Sports Soccer BETTING LINE:
- Pinnacle Sports currently lists Bayern Munich as the favorites at -108 with Arsenal +300 and a draw at +299
Bayern Munich has won their past 12 games in all competitions and had no problem beating fellow Group G clubs Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos, who both managed to beat Arsenal. In fact, The German juggernaut beat those two squads by a combined score of 8-0 to claim top spot in the group. Bayern Munich has managed to score at least five goals in four of their 12 matches during their current winning streak. In addition, they left London with victories the last two times they visited Arsenal in the 2012/13 and 2013/14 Champions League campaigns.
Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola has led his side to Bundesliga championships in his first two seasons at the club, but has been knocked out of the Champions League competition at the semifinal stage in both of those years. Guardiola has his team firing on all cylinders so far this year even though the squad has been hit hard by injuries. Some of the team’s too players have been sidelined such as Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Kingsley Coman and Mario Goetze.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is also used to seeing his squad weakened due to injuries and he’ll be without English international striker Danny Welbeck, English international midfielder Jack Wilshere and Czech Republic international midfielder Tomas Rosicky while defender Gabriel is questionable for the contest. Overall, Arsenal has met Bayern Munich eight times in the past. They’ve won two, lost four and drawn the other two and have been outscored 12-8. Arsenal’s last victory came in March of 2013 when they surprised Bayern 2-0 in Munich.
This is a huge game for the Gunners if they hope to advance from the group stage since another loss will cement their place in the basement with zero points out of a possible nine. Wenger must also decide who will play in goal for this game. He usually plays David Ospina in the champions League and Petr Cech in the Premier League, but Ospina struggled mightily in his last outing, which was a 3-2 loss to Olympiakos. The Gunners head into the game with four wins and a loss in their past five games in all competitions while Bayern Munich has won their past five.